Who are Penn State’s top-10 cornerbacks of the last 25 years? How our panel voted
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Penn State football: The best players since 2000
For summer 2025, we’re looking back on the past quarter century of Penn State football and Nittany Lions. We formed a panel of voters to determine the best players at each position since the 2000 season, along with the top 10 offensive and defensive players overall.
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Our summer series ranking the best Penn State football players of the last 25 years continues on with a position that hasn’t historically produced a lot of All-Americans — cornerback.
As a reminder, we had 10 Penn State beat writers form a panel of voters to determine the best Nittany Lions at each position since the 2000 season, along with the top 10 offensive and defensive players overall, based on their stats, accomplishments and the eye test.
That panel is made up of Neil Rudel (Altoona Mirror), Rich Scarcella (Reading Eagle), Audrey Snyder (The Nittany Dispatch), Mark Brennan (Lions247), Mark Wogenrich (Penn State on SI), Frank Bodani (York Daily Record), Daniel Gallen (Lions247), Johnny McGonigal (PennLive), Josh Moyer (Centre Daily Times) and Jon Sauber (Centre Daily Times).
And at the end of each week, you’ll have a chance to vote on each position in a poll at the bottom of the story and have your say on the best Nittany Lions since 2000. Results will be shared at the end of the series later this summer.
We’ve already covered quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers, offensive linemen, tight ends and safeties. So let’s move on to the 10 best cornerbacks since 2000.
Note: All stats and years played are from 2000 and beyond unless otherwise noted. First-place votes are in parentheses for players with a high rank of one.
10. D’Anton Lynn
High rank: 4 | Low rank: NR | Average rank: 9.3
Years played: 2008-2011
Lynn wasn’t the fastest corner — his 40-yard dash was clocked in the 4.7s — but, at 6-foot-1, he didn’t need to be. The zone-coverage specialist was known for his high football IQ, and he was a key cog in the Nittany Lions’ top-20 pass defenses of the late Joe Paterno era. He often found himself in the right position, wasn’t a stranger in the backfield (with seven career tackles-for-loss) and became a three-time All-Big Ten honorable mention. After his playing career ended shortly after college, he parlayed his on-field smarts to become a sought-after assistant coach. He is now USC’s defensive coordinator.
9. Bryan Scott
High rank: 4 | Low rank: NR | Average rank: 8.7
Years played (after 1999): 2000-2002
The athleticism of the 1998 Pennsylvania Big School Player of the Year was never really in doubt. Scott could run a 40-yard dash in the 4.3s, and most colleges recruited the three-sport star as an “athlete.” (He would go on to play cornerback, safety and even linebacker over his 10-season NFL career.) At Penn State, he was a dependable and reliable three-year starter who was an All-Big Ten honorable mention in 2002. He finished with five career interceptions before getting selected in the second round of the 2003 NFL Draft.
8. Grant Haley
High rank: 2 | Low rank: NR | Average rank: 8.4
Years played: 2014-2017
One play shouldn’t define an entire career, but it’s hard to mention Haley without making note of his hand in the legendary “Kick Six” of the 2016 win against Ohio State. Safety Marcus Allen blocked a field goal, and Haley returned it for a 60-yard TD in the closing minutes of the game to seal a 24-21 win. At the time, it was the Nittany Lions’ first victory over a top-2 program in more than a quarter-century, a statement that showed the college football world that Penn State had returned as a contender. But that play isn’t what landed Haley here; that was simply the highlight to a Ring of Honor-worthy career. Haley was a consistent leader and a disciplined playmaker, one who recorded 23 pass breakups and was twice named All-Big Ten honorable mention.
7. John Reid
High rank: 5 | Low rank: NR | Average rank: 8.0
Years played: 2015-2019
Reid was a total (game) film junkie, so it’s no surprise his on-field intelligence and awareness were always considered his strengths. Penn State legend Saquon Barkley once said he was hoping to one day get on Reid’s film level, while video coordinator Jevin Stone said Reid was nearly as obsessed with film as Peyton Manning. The cerebral corner saw immediate action as a true freshman and, despite a torn ACL in 2017, still was a three-time All-Big Ten honorable mention. Since the year 2000, only one Penn State player has more career passes defended than Reid’s 37 (30 pass breakups, 7 interceptions) — and that player sits at No. 1 on our list.
6. Kalen King
High rank: 4 | Low rank: NR | Average rank: 7.4
Years played: 2021-2023
The two-year starter boasted an explosive sophomore campaign, where he became just the the third PSU cornerback this century to earn All-America honors. (He was a second-teamer from the Walter Camp Football Foundation and a third-teamer from Pro Football Focus.) His 2022 season was statistically one of the finest in Penn State history, as he amassed 21 passes defended (18 breakups, 3 interceptions) — the second-most by a Nittany Lion in the last 25 years. His junior campaign was quieter, statistically, and the Senior Bowl did him no favors after bolting early for the draft — as he went from hearing first-round hype to becoming a seventh-round NFL draft pick. Despite the step back, King’s overall talent, physicality and versatility were a huge boon to the Nittany Lions. He was a lockdown defender and playmaker.
5. Adrian Amos
High rank: 2 | Low rank: NR | Average rank: 5.1
Years played: 2011-2014
Amos was once named one of the NFL’s most “underappreciated” players — and maybe it’s fair to label him similarly at Penn State. He’s one of the few Nittany Lions to play under four different head coaches and, despite the change in systems, he found himself flipping from cornerback to safety (and back) as the coaching staffs needed. While he didn’t initially pick up on safety as quickly as he hoped, Amos’ talent and ability were never in question. He was a team leader and star player during one of the most difficult times in Penn State history and, when allowed to play where he was best and not just where he was needed, Amos shined. He was a three-time All-Big Ten honorable mention, and the fifth-round NFL draft pick started 125 career NFL games. Half of our panel ranked Amos within their top 3.
4. Amani Oruwariye
High rank: 3 | Low rank: 9 | Average rank: 5.0
Years played: 2015-2018
Oruwariye showed improvement each and every season in Happy Valley, culminating in back-to-back All-Big Ten selections — second team in 2017 and first team in 2018. He showed good speed (4.47) to complement his 6-foot-1 stature, and he boasted the ability to press at the line or fall back into zone coverage. It’s no surprise he also developed a reputation as a physical ball-hawk. He had eight career interceptions, to go along with 22 pass breakups, most of which came over his final two seasons. He even ranked within the top 20, nationally, when it came to passes defended per game in 2018.
3. Justin King
High rank: 1 (1) | Low rank: 7 | Average rank: 4.2
Years played: 2005-2007
Even when King appeared to be beat, which didn’t happen often, it didn’t often stay that way. With top-end recovery speed, elite closing quickness and nationally lauded athleticism, King made plays few other DBs were capable of. You might’ve thought you had King beat at the line — he didn’t have the strongest reputation for press coverage — but King could quickly recover from a stumble. After all, his 4.31-second 40-yard dash at the 2008 NFL Combine was the second-fastest among all prospects that year. But King didn’t just build to that; his talent was undeniable from the time he first stepped foot within Beaver Stadium. He played both ways as a true freshman, before earning All-Big Ten honors (second team) as a sophomore and again (first team) as a junior. His-first ever interception even ended the streak of 153 passes without a turnover by Ohio State QB Troy Smith. He was taken in the fourth round of the 2008 NFL Draft.
2. Joey Porter Jr.
High rank: 2 | Low rank: 5 | Average rank: 2.8
Years played: 2019-2022
Sure, he had just one career interception at Penn State — but it’s hard to get them when so few quarterbacks throw your way. Porter Jr. was a consistent, physical shutdown corner with three All-Big Ten selections — once on the first team, twice on the third — to complement his second-team All-America honors in 2022. In man coverage that season, he was targeted just 26 times and allowed nine catches for 70 yards and a completion rate of 34.6%. Read that line again. His main criticism was his tendency to be a little too “grabby” in coverage, leading to penalties, but few Penn State corners experienced as much one-on-one success as Porter Jr. against his opponent’s top wideouts. He was a semifinalist for both the Bednarik and Thorpe awards before the Pittsburgh Steelers took him the second round of the 2023 NFL Draft. Besides our near-unanimous No. 1, Porter Jr. was the only other cornerback our panel of 10 beat writers entirely agreed was a top-5 Penn State CB.
1. Alan Zemaitis
High rank: 1 (9) | Low rank: 2 | Average rank: 1.1
Years played: 2002-2005
It’s hard to find Penn State DBs much more decorated than Zemaitis — across any time period. He stands fifth on Penn State’s all-time list of career passes defended (46), more than anyone else since 1997, and he’s also tied for No. 5 on the school’s career interceptions list (12). The four men ahead of him? All safeties. Oh, and let’s not forget he became the first Nittany Lion cornerback in modern history to be named a second-team All-American (in 2005). Zemaitis was the epitome of resilience and improvement in Happy Valley, overcoming a violent crash that flipped his car on its hood during the 2003 offseason. The 6-foot-2 zone-coverage specialist never missed a game over his career, earning selections on the All-Big Ten second team for two seasons before getting promoted to the first team in 2005. Maybe Zemaitis isn’t a household name, but this No. 1 pick was still a no-brainer.
This story was originally published July 9, 2025 at 6:00 AM.
